Najaf's Newly Elected City Council Meets

BASSEM MROUE

Published 8:00 pm, Sunday, July 6, 2003

Associated Press Writer

The newly elected City Council in this holy Shiite Muslim city held its first meeting Monday, with a U.S. commander telling the representatives they must express the views of their constituents, not just their own.

The council has been touted as a step toward democracy, raising hopes among the people of Najaf for an improvement in services decimated during Saddam Hussein's 23-year dictatorship.

The meeting came a week after U.S. forces arrested the city's mayor. The arrest, after Iraqi prosecutors charged the mayor with corruption, pleased Najaf residents, who accused him of being a member of Saddam's Baath Party because of his military background.

"Najaf is taking its first step of democracy," Lt. Col. Christopher C. Conlin, the U.S. troops' top commander in this southern province told members of the council at the opening meeting. "Together, you will guide its citizens down the path, a path of your own choosing, not the path of a dictator."

"All of you were chosen because of your ability to represent the people. Never forget to express their views, not only your views," he said.

Najaf's interim mayor, Haidar Mahdi Mattar, told members of the council: "We know that everyone wants to do his job. I hope, and I am sure that the members of the council will be up to their responsibilities."

Its only female member, Jenan Yasser al-Obeidi, a doctor, attended the meeting dressed in black from head to toe. She sat quietly and took notes.

City councils like the one in Najaf have been emerging around Iraq, with councils in Mosul and Baghdad, among other cities. Fallujah and other cities have mayors. British are setting up governing entities in Basra.

Najaf, like much of Shiite-dominated southern Iraq, has been largely free of the daily violence against U.S. troops that is plaguing occupation forces in the so-called Sunni Muslim triangle north and west of Baghdad, where Saddam drew much of his support.

U.S. officials have expressed concern that Shiite-majority Iran may be trying to influence events in the Shiite areas of southern Iraq, but leaders here have sought to dispel that concern, saying they are eager to run their own affairs.

With the 22-member City Council beginning its work, Najaf is now controlled by three entities: the council, the mayor's office and the courts.

Elected over the past two weeks, members of the council represent professional associations, unions, political parties and the Hawza _ the 1,300-strong Shiite Muslim seminary.

Coalition forces had planned to hold elections to choose a mayor for Najaf on June 5, but the balloting was canceled because of the investigation against the former mayor, who was chosen by U.S. troops shortly after they entered Najaf in April.

Mohammed al-Assadi, who represents independents on the council, said at the opening meeting that the council must work to improve the lives of ordinary people in this city of 300,000.

"We as a council were chosen by the people," he said. "God willing we will work to achieve the hopes and wishes of the people."

Council members will be divided into committees that will work on pressing issues such as electricity, water and transportation.

"Today is really the organizational meeting, and we literally have to figure out who is going to be the chairman and who the subcommittees will be," Conlin said. "They have never met before so there is a lot of creation going on today."

Haidar Rashid al-Yassiri, a 31-year-old Najaf resident, said he hopes "the council will work on restoring infrastructure such as water and electricity, as well as unemployment."

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"During the days of the old regime, only members of the Baath used to benefit and got what they wanted. This council has nothing to do with any regime because all of them are intellectuals and chosen by the people," said hospital employee Angham Fakher, while having a meal at a downtown Najaf restaurant.